


Cirque de la Nuit

by Kats_watermelon



Series: Cirque de la Nuit [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Multi, circus AU, this got me out of my writing rut woohoo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 07:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6365212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kats_watermelon/pseuds/Kats_watermelon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette is a fortune teller at the famed Cirque de la Nuit. Many customers come and go from her tent, listening to Lady Luck's predictions or investing in one of her lucky charms. What they don't know, however, is that Marinette’s powers are far from fake. Everyone in Cirque de la Nuit has an ability. Marinette can see the future. And when she sees something she doesn't want to, she's determined to change it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not come up with this AU, it was created by the fabulous taytei on tumblr and you need to go look at her art right now immediately because it is amazing

Marinette sat down on her little divan with a swish of skirts. When she’d settled herself, she smiled at the customers sitting across from her.

“I’m so glad you came in to see me,” she said softly, trying to maintain an air of mystery. “What is troubling you?”

The young woman was leaning forward, clearly entranced by Marinette’s performance. The young man next to her, however, had a skeptical expression on. He was obviously not buying into Marinette’s powers. She smiled to herself a little. He would, soon enough.

“Well, Jason and I want to get married, but my father won’t have it,” the young woman said. “I was hoping you could help me with possibly getting a little luck in convincing him?”

“You’ve come to the right person if you’re looking for luck,” Marinette said. She turned and carefully picked up a small talisman from the shelf to her right. The boy, Jason, rolled his eyes.

“Is this seriously how you want to spend your time at the circus, Ivy?” he hissed to the girl. “None of this is real, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Jason,” Marinette said, smiling a little. “I understand your doubt and your hesitation, but believe me when I say I will do everything I can to help you.”

“Look at her, Jason,” Ivy said. “This place is weird, yes, but I don’t think she’s lying to us.”

Jason crossed his arms over his chest, scowling, but didn’t comment any further. Marinette laid the necklace in Ivy’s palm. It had a charm of a small dove dangling from the black cord. Marinette waved her fingers over the charm, murmuring a soft incantation that she’d memorized for lucky charms. When she’d finished, she closed Ivy’s fingers around the small dove and smiled brightly at her. 

“Wear this when you speak to your father,” she said. “It will give you both courage and luck in your attempts.” 

Ivy’s smile brightened her entire face, lighting up her warm brown eyes.

“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you so much.”

Marinette nodded. She was turning to grab her shawl when she heard a loud meow and a cry of surprise. She turned to see a familiar black cat sitting on Jason’s head with a very smug expression. Ivy was laughing, clutching her stomach. Jason looked about ready to scream.

“Chat!” Marinette cried, putting her hands on her hips. “Get down from there right now!” She smiled apologetically at Jason, who was swearing under his breath. “That’s Chat Noir. That dumb cat is constantly following me around.” She stood and grabbed Chat off of Jason’s head. “I’m so sorry about him. He’s nothing but trouble.”

“Should I call Animal Control?” Jason asked, rubbing his head and eyeing Chat distrustfully. The black cat in Marinette’s arms hissed at him. 

“No!” Marinette cried, a little too quickly. She immediately reeled it in. “I mean, no. He’s a part of our circus. No need to call Animal Control.”

Jason’s eyebrows shot up, but he let it go and said to Ivy, “Come on. The main show is starting in fifteen minutes.”

Ivy handed Marinette her payment and put on the necklace. Marinette waved them out of her tent and turned to Chat with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her lips. Where the black cat had been sitting a second ago now lounged a lanky young man with black pants, cat ears, a tail, and an insufferable smirk. 

“What are you doing in here?” Marinette demanded. “Your show starts in fifteen minutes!” 

Chat shrugged, his bare shoulders flexing. 

“I wanted to come see you,” he said. “Is that a crime?”

Marinette walked up to him, her hips swaying. 

“Maybe,” she said, flicking his bell earring. “Especially this close to the start of the show. Papillon is going to have a fit if you’re late.”

“Papillon will never know I was gone. I’ll be back before he knows it.”

Marinette smirked.

“I don’t have to be able to see the future to know that Papillon will know you were gone. Get your dumb cat butt back to where it’s supposed to be.”

“Will I get a reward for doing as my lady wishes?” Chat asked, stepping a little closer and setting his hands over hers on her hips. Marinette’s lips twitched, but she just shook her head, rolling her eyes. 

“Maybe,” she replied mysteriously. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

Chat grinned, leaning down to capture her mouth in a short, soft kiss before he stepped back into the shadows. The last Marinette saw of him was the green glow of his eyes as he transformed back into his cat form and scampered away. 

 

People trickled in and out of Marinette’s tent as the night wore on. She sold a few more lucky charms and one potion for courage. Two people asked her to read their futures: one, a woman wanting to know the gender of her unborn child (a girl, who would grow to be a beautiful woman), and the other a young man who wanted to know if he was going to get a book deal with the manuscript he’d recently sent a publisher. They seemed satisfied with her predictions when they left. 

It was finally time for Marinette to close down her little booth. She set the “closed” sign down in the entrance and got to work cleaning up. As she passed by her mirror, she paused to study the skin of her cheeks. The red skin with black spots grew more noticeable at night, although it often looked like it was just facepaint. There were two similar patches of skin on her exposed shoulders. She still had yet to quite get used to it, even after six years. 

She shook her head and continued on, putting her talismans and potions into their drawers and cupboards. She carefully set her crystal ball on its stand, smiling at the flower that Nathanaël must have added. When she’d finished, she poked her head out of her tent. The moon was high above her, casting light down on the last few visitors trailing out of the carnival’s grounds. Alya was standing at the gates, waving them all out. She winked at Marinette when she spotted her, making her way over once the last guest had left.

“How were sales tonight?” Alya asked, leaning against the tent pole. Marinette shrugged.

“About as good as I predicted they’d be,” she said. “How was your night?”

“Good,” Alya replied. “I heard that a certain cat was missing only a few minutes before his performance. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Marinette rolled her eyes.

“Dumb cat jumped right on top of one of my customers. I’ve got half a mind to ban him from my tent.”

“You wouldn’t do that to me, would you?” 

The two girls looked up to see Adrien, otherwise known as Chat Noir, sitting on top of Marinette’s tent. He did a neat flip off, landing in front of them, and gave Marinette a bow.

“My lady,” he said. “Beautiful as always.”

Marinette’s annoyance faded and she stepped forwards to wrap her arms around him. He chuckled, hugging her back.

“I am sorry about that,” he said softly. “I just wanted to see my lucky charm before the performance. Just in case I fell off something.”

“You’ve got your lucky charm with you, you dumb cat,” Marinette said, flicking his earring again. “And don’t joke about falling off of things. That’s what I’m worried about.”

Adrien just smiled and gave her a quick kiss. Alya pretended to barf, grinning.

“Jeez, you two are sickening,” she said, rolling her eyes. “We should make you the next attraction.” She spread her hands like she was imagining it on a poster. “‘Fortune Teller and Acrochat, Ridiculously in Love! Get your tickets now!’” 

Marinette stuck her tongue out at her friend and Adrien laughed. 

“Alya,” Marinette sighed. “You don’t have to make fun of us–”

Alya held up a finger, her eyes suddenly a million miles away. Marinette knew that meant that she was accessing the internet again.

“Wait, one second. Somebody posted something I didn’t authorize. Gimme a minute.”

Adrien laughed again, his arms still wrapped around Marinette.

“We’ll leave you to it,” he said. “Come on, Marinette.”

The two of them slipped into Marinette’s tent, leaving Alya standing there with a frown on her face. Marinette pulled aside the curtain that divided her living space from the “parlor” of her tent. Adrien skipped past her sat down on the small cot that Marinette slept on, making himself a little nest in the blankets. Marinette opened one of her cupboards and grabbed a teapot.

“Do you want any tea?” she asked, pausing to look at him. “Are you sore from tonight?”

“I’m not sore from the show,” Adrien said, rolling his eyes at her. “But I would like some tea.”

“I’m just checking,” Marinette said defensively. “I wasn’t sure if you’d stretched today.”

“I always stretch,” Adrien said, sounding almost offended. Marinette laughed, setting the tea kettle over the small fire in the center of her living space. She turned back to her cupboards, searching for Adrien’s favorite teacup, the one with the ladybug painted on it. 

The tea kettle let out a piercing shriek, telling Marinette that it had finished boiling. She grabbed it off of the fire and poured some water into Adrien’s cup, tea leaves already waiting at the bottom.  
She had just turned to him, smiling, when a vision hit her. 

She was suddenly standing in the performance tent, watching as her beloved cat flipped from one platform to the other, thirty feet in the air. She smiled a little at his cheek-splitting grin. 

A smile that turned to a scream when he fell off of the platform, hurtling towards the ground below.

The teacup fell out of her hands and shattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe please don't hurt me


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette was a sobbing, incoherent mess. Adrien sprinted out of her tent, cradling her carefully in his arms. He seemed to hesitate, as if trying to figure out where he should go. Marinette understood why. Usually she would tell him about her visions, and he would know where to take her. This time, however, she hadn’t told him, instead screaming before dissolving into tears.

Adrien seemed to decide what he wanted to do and ran for the main tent. Despite sprinting so fast he practically flew, his arms around Marinette were exceedingly gentle. He pushed aside the flaps of the tent with his shoulder and shouted out, “Alya! I need your help!”

Marinette curled into her cat, pressing her face into his chest. _He’s okay_ , she told herself. _It was just a vision. He’s going to be okay. Visions don’t always come true._

 _But yours do,_ her traitorous mind whispered.

“What the hell happened to her?!”

“I think a vision, but she didn’t tell me what she saw. She froze, then screamed and started crying.”

“Marinette?” A soft hand on her face. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Marinette shook her head, curling into Adrien further. She heard Alya sigh.

“Come on, bring her to Rose. Maybe a little aromatherapy will help calm her down.”

Adrien started walking again, his thumb rubbing comforting little circles on Marinette’s shoulder. Her bare feet stung a little from a small cut she’d gotten from the broken teacup. She hiccupped, wrapping her fingers around Adrien’s upper arm and hanging on tight. She wasn’t going to let go. _Ever._

Adrien set her down on a soft surface. Marinette figured it was probably Rose’s stall, if the sweet fragrance was anything to go by.

“What happened to her?”

“Vision, I think. She wouldn’t tell me what it was.”

“Hmm. Okay. Give me a few minutes with her, I’ll see what I can do.”

Adrien gently pulled his arm out of Marinette’s grasp. She immediately sat up, grabbing his wrist.

“Stay,” she pleaded. His eyebrows shot up, but he sat down next to her, lacing their fingers together.

“Alright, Marinette,” Rose said. “Just lay back and relax.” Once Marinette had done what she was told, Rose prepared some incense and began setting it around her. Marinette felt the tension leaving her muscles. “Can you describe to me what you saw?”

The heady scent of the incense was intoxicating, laying a thick layer of fuzz over Marinette’s mind. She knew that that was just Rose’s magic. Rose was an aroma therapist, but also a hypnotist. She could get anyone to tell her anything she wanted. It wasn’t unlike Jack’s power, but his was more for show. Rose’s was a quieter power.

Marinette didn’t want to tell Rose what she’d seen. She didn’t want to tell anyone what she’d seen because she was terrified that if she said it out loud, that would make it real. 

“Why are you scared of the vision?”

Marinette realized she’d said her thoughts out loud and squeezed her eyes shut, a single sob escaping.

“I think I saw someone die,” she finally admitted. She heard Adrien inhale sharply and his hand caressed her cheek.

“Marinette,” Rose said gently. “Sometimes your visions don’t show everything. Are you sure that’s what happened?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Adrien, I’m going to have to ask you to leave for this next part.”

“No,” Marinette said, her eyes flying open. “No, I don’t want him to leave.”

“You saw Adrien die,” Rose said simply. “That’s why you’re so afraid of the vision; that’s why you don’t want him to leave. True?”

Marinette burst into tears again, burying her face in her hands. Adrien’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her tightly to him.

“That’s enough, Rose,” he said sharply. “Can’t you see you’re upsetting her?”

Rose said nothing to that, but the smell of incense increased until Marinette felt herself drifting into an even heavier fog. Adrien carefully lowered her down on the small couch, tucking a blanket around her.

“I’m right here,” he said softly. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

Marinette nodded, her eyes sliding shut. She quickly slipped into a deep sleep, still clutching Adrien’s hand.

 

Chat Noir grinned down at the crowd, winking at Marinette, who was standing in the audience. She rolled her eyes at him, but blew him a kiss. He turned to the obstacle course laid out before him in the air, his smile widening. Marinette smiled to herself. She knew that Adrien loved his acrobatic performances more than he’d admit to anyone else. He took a running leap off the platform, flinging himself into the open air. There was a loud gasp from the crowd. Chat did a somersault in midair and reached out, grabbing hold of a bar hanging from the top of the tent. He swung round it once, twice, and then off of it onto another platform. Marinette’s heart beat a little faster in fear for her cat, but calmed when she remembered that he had the bell earring she’d given him. It was to counteract the bad luck that his powers gave him.

Chat made three more leaps across his platforms, and then Marinette saw something horrifying. Where she normally would have seen a glint of gold from his earring, she saw nothing. 

“CHAT!” she screamed. Her cat didn’t seem to hear her, and made another running leap for the next bar hanging from the tent. She fisted her hands in her skirt, screaming his name again, but he didn’t hear her. His arms stretched out, reaching for the bar.

But his fingers fell short.

And then he was falling. 

 

Marinette sat up, screaming Adrien’s name. 

“Marinette, I’m here! I’m here, I’m okay!”

She looked around, eyes wide, and met Adrien’s bright green gaze. He cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to keep her eyes on him.

“It was just a dream,” he said quietly. “I’m right here.”

Marinette started shaking, drinking in the sight of Adrien’s face, unscathed. Her eyes flicked to his left earlobe, where his bell earring still hung. 

“I’m okay,” Adrien repeated. Marinette wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder.

“Just a dream,” she murmured. “But if you take that earring off for even a second, I will pour itching powder down your pants.”

Adrien laughed, kissing the side of her head.

“Noted, my lady. Earring stays in. No itching powder for this kitty.”

He stayed with her until she’d calmed down, then offered to take her back to her tent. She was still in Rose’s stall, surrounded by incense. Rose was passed out in her own bed, hugging a pillow to her chest.

“She said you could stay in here until you were feeling better,” Adrien explained, handing Marinette a cup of tea. “She made you this for when you woke up.”

Marinette sipped the tea as they walked back, the gravel biting at her bare feet. She kept Adrien’s hand in her own, swinging their hands between them as they walked.

“Do you want to tell me what you saw?” Adrien asked quietly after a minute. Marinette shook her head.

“I don’t want to talk about it. As long as you keep your earring in, everything will be okay. Okay?”

Adrien nodded, smiling at her.

“I wasn’t planning on ever taking it out, but I suppose that gives me even more incentive for keeping it in.”

The moon overhead was beginning to sink and there was a faint light on the horizon. Cirque de la Nuit typically stayed open until about two in the morning, so Marinette guessed that it was getting close to five or six in the morning.

“How long was I asleep?”

Adrien shrugged.

“A few hours at least. I wasn’t really watching the clock. Do we even have clocks?”

Marinette giggled, booping him on the nose as they reached her tent.

“No, we don’t, _chaton_. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He grinned, keeping hold of her hands.

“Technically, it _is_ morning.”

“Shh.” She stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Get some sleep. I’ll come by when I get up, okay?”

“I can’t stay with you?” he pouted. Marinette sighed. He gave her his best attempt at puppy eyes and she laughed.

“Fine,” she said. “Only in cat form. There isn’t enough room for you as a human.”

Adrien grinned and shrank down into a small black cat. Chat Noir curled around Marinette’s ankles, jangling the gold anklets she wore. She laughed, reaching down to pick him up.

“Now, you better be a good kitty,” she said, flicking the bell earring that stayed with him in his cat form. “Or I’ll toss you out.”

Chat meowed at her and rubbed her cheek with his, purring loudly. She laughed again, stroking him, and carried him into her tent. He swatted at her golden hoop earrings, meowing triumphantly when he caught one between his paws. Marinette rolled her eyes and set him down on her cot. 

“Give me a second to take some of that off so I can sleep,” she told him. She slipped the bangles off of her wrists and ankles and took the earrings out. Next to go was the red headscarf she wore. She tossed that over Chat so that she could change into something more comfortable for sleeping in without him peeking. She unwrapped her red skirt carefully and set it aside, pulling on a small pair of shorts and deciding to leave her loose white top. She lifted the headscarf off of Chat, smiling when she caught him playing with one of the gold coins that were sewn to the edges.

“Silly cat,” she laughed. “Shove over. I need to sleep.” 

She laid down on her back, pulling her blankets up over her. Once she’d gotten comfortable, Chat climbed up onto her stomach and settled himself on top of her, purring loudly. She could feel it vibrate throughout her and smiled, shutting her eyes to fall asleep.

“ _Bonne nuit, chaton,_ ” she said, yawning. She was answered with a soft meow and allowed herself to drift off once more.

 

The next day, Marinette woke to a brightly shining sun and a pair of green cat eyes staring down at her. 

“You’re up,” she murmured, reaching up to stroke him. “I guess you want me to get up too, don’t you?”

He didn’t make a sound, only tilted his head and looked at her. She sighed, scratching behind his ear.

“Why don’t you get off of me so that I can get up and maybe start getting ready for the day? I’ve got a few potions to make before tonight’s opening.”

Chat Noir jumped off of her, landing on the ground. A bright green flash of light blinded Marinette for a second, and then Adrien was standing there instead, his cat hoodie pulled up over his head.

“Bonjour, princess,” he grinned. “How did you sleep?”

“Fairly well,” Marinette yawned. “Hand me my skirt, will you?”

She rewrapped it, her fingers following the routine she’d established. She put her jewelry back on and set a pan over her cooking fire, snapping her fingers to light it. She padded over to the cabinets and pulled out a few food items.

“What do you want for breakfast?” she asked Adrien. He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Whatever you want to make,” he replied.

“Marinette? Are you up?” Alya’s voice called. 

“In here!” Marinette responded, grabbing milk and eggs out of the fridge. Alya appeared in the entrance to Marinette’s living area.

“How are you?” Alya asked, sparing a glance at Adrien, who only flashed her a smile. “Did visiting Rose help with the vision?”

“Yes, it did,” Marinette said, tossing a few ingredients into her pan. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

“Yeah, of course. Are you feeling better?”

“Much. Do you want some breakfast?”

“First off, it’s lunchtime; secondly, no thanks, Papillon wants me on PR again in like ten minutes.” She sneezed. “And I think I’m coming down with something. I might join you for lunch, though. Oh, Adrien, by the way, the others want you in the big tent to go over the new routine.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“See you two later,” Alya said, ducking out. Marinette shook her head. 

“I need to get _her_ a lucky charm. She keeps getting sick.”

Adrien laughed, flicking the edge of Marinette’s headscarf as she walked by.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. It’s just a virus, after all.”

 

Marinette stopped by Nathanaël’s tent after Adrien left to ask him if he could redraw her sign. It was fading again, and with the sun they’d been having recently, the fading was even worse.

“Nath?” she called out, stepping into the little tent. “You in here?”

“Marinette!” Nathanaël appeared on her left, grinning widely. “How can I help Lady Luck today?”

“My sign’s faded again,” she said. “Is there any way you could repaint it for me?"

“Of course,” Nathanaël said. “How are you doing? I heard you had a hard time last night with a vision.”

“News travels fast in the circus,” Marinette laughed. “I’m okay. Thanks for asking.”

They walked back to her tent, chatting about Nathanaël’s night and the sign. 

“I’ll be inside, mixing a few things for tonight, if you need me,” Marinette told him, slipping inside. He was already pulling paints out of his jacket and just nodded, brows furrowed as he studied her faded sign. Marinette walked over to her cauldron, sitting in the back of her parlor, and rubbed her hands together. 

“What am I low on?” she asked herself, looking around at her shelves. She had plenty of necklaces and other small talismans to make into lucky charms. She had enough courage potions and luck potions and even a few potions for agility or speed. What could she make?

She finally decided on mixing up a few more luck potions and a few more skill potions. She had an old recipe for a creativity potion that she was dying to try out. 

She was almost finished with her potion when she realized that she didn’t have any rabbits’ feet left. She let out a little huff of frustration and set down her spoon.

“Dried beetles?” she muttered to herself. “Got ‘em. Snakeskin? No problem. But rabbits’ feet? Apparently I don’t have those. Ironic, considering I’m supposed to be Lady Luck.”

She headed over to Nathanaël’s tent.

“Hey, sorry to bother you again,” she said. “Is there any chance you could draw me up some rabbits’ feet? I’m all out and I need some.”

Nathanaël frowned.

“I don’t know, Marinette,” he said. “The drawings are temporary. I don’t know if putting it in a potion would work out.”

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Marinette said. “Come on, help a fortune teller out. I’ll read your palm for you.”

Nathanaël snorted and agreed to draw her some rabbits’ feet on the condition that she agreed to read his palm for real, and not in a joking way like she had last time. Once she’d agreed to his terms, he grabbed his sketchbook and quickly sketched a jar of the ingredients. Once he’d finished, he pressed his hand to the page with an expression of concentration. He slowly lifted his hand up, the jar lifting with it, until the jar he’d sketched was sitting on top of the sketchbook.

“There you go,” he said, smiling. “Is that good?”

“Perfect, thank you,” Marinette said. She promised to come back to read his palm and hurried back to her tent. Her potion was close to boiling over, so she quickly twisted open the jar and tossed a rabbit foot into the bubbling mixture. It immediately calmed and turned a soft purple color. Marinette smiled.

“Finished.”

She bottled the potion in separate little stoppered bottles and set them on a shelf, carefully labelling them for later. Maybe she’d sell some that night. 

She was sweeping up when a small vision flashed across her mind. Screams, shouts for an ambulance, leaning over her beloved cat and screaming at him to stay with her. Tears on her face and fear in her heart.

“Marinette?”

Marinette jerked a little, Nathanaël’s voice pulling her out of her vision. He looked a little nervous.

“You said you’d read my palm?” he said uncertainly. Marinette shook away the last residue of the vison, smiling at her friend.

“Of course. Come sit down.”

She took his hand and examined it carefully, trying to push all thoughts of visions and falling acrobats from her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having a lot of fun with this, hope you guys are liking it. Let me know what you think!


End file.
